UN report says torture in Afghan prisons 'widespread'

London, Jan. 21 (ANI): Torture in Afghan prisons continues to be widespread, despite recommendations in a report in 2011, the United Nations has said.

More than half of the 635 detainees interviewed by UN investigators said they had been ill-treated or tortured, but the Afghan Government said that the claims were exaggerated.

According to the BBC, the report, by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), focused on detainees in facilities run by both national and local police forces and the intelligence services, the NDS, between October 2011 and October 2012.

It identified 14 methods of torture and ill-treatment practices, including beatings, a threat of execution and sexual abuse.

The report found that some prisoners were even given electric shocks to extract confessions or obtain information.

The number of incidents in police custody had risen from 35 to 43 percent compared with the previous 12 month period.

Unama said that, although the government had implemented some recommendations in its 2011 report, from training to inspections and directives, but it appeared that none had been followed, the report added. (ANI)

--

Get stories like this on the Yahoo app and discover more every day.Download it now.